Army Wife Demands To Be Saluted Unaware Of What That Means

They’ve Had Enough

The situation had become out of control.

Was it really expected that the men would salute her?

There was no way they could agree with that. All because a badge was on her car? She was just a wife.

It wouldn’t be tolerated.

There was a tense silence among the men.

There was nothing pleasant about the situation the men were in.

The situation needed to be addressed.

Military Wife

Margaret Willis, a 52-year-old woman, was fully aware of the pros and cons of being married to a man in the military.

She was not like any ordinary wife, she was the wife of a respectable officer which was a pretty big deal.

Margaret tried to maintain the respect and poise of an officer’s wife at all times.

She simply did not know where this distinction ended, which was unfortunate for her.

It Had Its Perks

Being married to an officer was not without its privileges.

One of the said privileges was that their family was granted the ability to live on the military base.

Corporal Thomas West was a non-commissioned officer, but where he lacked rank, he made up with the discipline and drive.

Meeting Margaret Willis demonstrated exactly how far he was prepared to go to carry out orders.

Strict Environment

Things were quite extreme at the Joint-Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER).

The winters were cold and ruthless, lasting up to six months and it was clear that this environment had no place for weakness.

Being assigned to gate duty in sub-zero conditions entailed additional responsibilities.

When Corporal West first met Margaret Willis on this deployment, he faced fresh challenges.

A Small Community

The soldiers who lived in JBER were a close-knit community, and they made Margaret Willis feel like she belonged.

She was married to their superior, and she deserved nothing but respect.

She married her husband long before the majority of soldiers enlisted in the army, but Corporal West did not agree with her reasoning.

He believed that respect should be earned.

A Big Man

Corporal West, who had initially been assigned to gate duty in the winter of 2019, stood watch with dignity and obedience.

West was a towering figure, standing 6 feet tall and built like a machine.

When Margaret arrived at the entrance on his first day, he was taken aback by her demeanor and expectations.

Not Today

West permitted Margaret through because she had an officer sticker on her ostentatious SUV, assuming she was a friend or relative of an officer.

That day, the bitter winter was stinging, and West had been guarding the gate all morning, needless to say, he was not in the mood for theatrics.

Instead of continuing on, Margaret came to a halt, rolled down her window, and focused a deadly gaze on West.

There Was No Officer Present

Having dressed in black, wearing dark glasses, and having a pompous attitude, Margaret demanded to know why she no longer received salutations as a wife of an officer.

The officer badge, according to West, signified one’s rank, not their vehicle. He couldn’t salute because there was no officer present.

Margaret was furious now, and she marched straight to the administration building with one goal in mind.

His Revenge

The next day, West and his squad were summoned by the commanders, who informed them that saluting cars with an officer’s sticker was now necessary, regardless of whether there’s an officer present or not.

West, enraged by the injustice, determined to avenge Margaret.

He didn’t worry about the dangers because this was now an issue of pride.

Taking Action

West had an unauthorized meeting with his unit to create a strategy for demonstrating to Margaret why ranks were so important to them.

It began with tiny annoyances: guys leaving their stations and wandering around the parking areas, saluting for seemingly inconsequential reasons.

When people started noticing, it was time to get his revenge.

It Was Time For The Next Step

As Margaret got into her car the following week, she found herself suddenly surrounded by West and his men.

The men all wore icy expressions on their faces and refused to move an inch.

With his crew cut, hardened jawline, and intense expression, West looked the most menacing.

Orders Were Orders

Margaret’s entitlement soon abandoned her, an expression of fear as she jumped out and ran off towards the barracks.

Returning with an officer who demanded answers.

They explained—discipline codes stated an officer’s salute must be returned before being dropped.

They were, therefore, duty-bound to wait for the car sticker to salute them back before they could leave.

She Wasn’t Letting It Go

The look on Margaret Willis’s face as the officer at her side struggled to suppress a grin at the mens’ explanation was priceless.

They felt that their interpretation of the rules was logical.

Margaret obviously did not. Once again, she marched off towards the administration office—only this time she returned with her husband.

Thought They’d Won

After pulling their prank and trying to get back at the privileged wife.

The men in the unit were feeling pretty good about themselves. They high-fived each other and started to celebrate.

But just as the soldiers thought they’d won the psychological warfare with the military wife, they saw someone they didn’t expect walking up the runway.

He had a mean look in his eye that spelled danger for the men.

Their Superior

Even though he was far away and they wouldn’t normally be able to recognize his face from that distance, they could see who it was by the way he walked. It was an intimidating march that they had seen before.

The grins that they shared now dropped from their faces.

They recognized the man walking on the tarmac as none other than their superior.

But that wasn’t all he was.

Going Straight To The Top

This time when the disgruntled woman marched to the administrator’s office, she decided she’d get the big guns.

She wouldn’t just complain to the front desk and have it feed up the ranks.

She would go to the source of all the power in the military base.

In fact, she could have gone there from the start.

Highest Ranking Officer

Normally, a civilian wouldn’t be able to just waltz into the highest ranking man’s office.

But she had a trick up her sleeve that none of the men could have anticipated.

Once they realized what was going on, there was no going back.

They’d already had their fun with their prank by the time the most important man at the military base caught wind of it.

Walking Straight In

Margaret walked straight passed the reception and all the way to the colonel’s office.

She didn’t even knock on his door before entering.

Most civilians would get kicked out of the base for just that alone.

The colonel looked up from his computer and saw Margaret fuming in front of him.

But after she told him what had happened, he saw red.

Walking Up The Lot

The colonel got up out of his chair and disregarded his important work to figure out what was going on.

He stomped past Margaret and started the long walk all the way down to the lot.

But there was a very good reason why he gave Margaret the time of day.

Something he wouldn’t do for just any normal civilian in his base.

Her Husband

The colonel was, in fact, Colonel Willis, Margaret’s husband. She lived on the base with him and had a chip on her shoulder because of it.

Now that she had been scorned by the other soldiers, she ran straight to him.

He couldn’t believe what she had told him. How could his own men do this to his wife?

But that was before he had the whole picture.

A Harsh Lesson

As Colonel Willis approached the lot, his expression was imposing.

In full regalia, the men immediately saluted him and he duly returned it—a little stiffly.

Margaret wore a look of bemusement as her husband demanded answers.

Explaining again, Colonel Willis turned to his wife after. The look on his face wiped the smug grin off her face.

Embarrassed

Colonel Willis’ face flushed red with embarrassment now that he had the full story laid out in front of him.

It appeared to the men that she had embarrassed him greatly and wouldn’t side with her this time.

Margaret’s smug grin turned to a look of surprise when she saw how red her husband was.

He was not happy about the situation and she knew it.

No Exceptions

Colonel Willis wouldn’t make any exceptions, even if it was his own wife.

He told her to go back and wait in his office while he spoke to his men.

Margaret couldn’t even look at him and kept her gaze on the ground.

Corporal West could tell that she knew she wouldn’t get away with her treatment of he and his men.

But what would happen to them?

Addressing The Situation

She shamefully headed back towards his office while he let out a sigh.

He then turned to his men to address the situation. He looked tired and drained, he hadn’t probably gotten any sleep just like his men.

He looked at all of them and back at his wife who was walkign away.

It was like there was an internal struggle on who to side with.

Repercussions

The men had no idea what to expect from their commander in chief.

Would they still face repercussions for their actions? Dozens of thoughts raced through their minds.

None of what they were thinking was positive.

Would they get latrine duty for a month? Or even worse, a dishonorable discharge.

Couldn’t Get A Read On Him

He rested his gaze on each of the men slowly, as if to unsettle them.

He was testing their mettle to see if any of them would show weakness.

But none of them budged an inch, they were the strong men he had trained and gotten to know.

They couldn’t get a read on what their superior was thinking.

Not one of them could have expected what happened next.

An Apology

The colonel did something that none of his men could have anticipated.

He looked at them and opened his mouth.

But what they heard was something they never had before.

It was an apology.

He told them that he would have a talk with his wife and she would never disrespect a military rank again.

A New Arrangement

After apologizing to his men, Colonel Willis dismissed the men and turned on his heel.

He walked back to the administrators office to have a word with his wife about the importance of rank.

When he got there, he told her exactly how things would work on the base from now on.

Hopefully, it would spell the end of the recent mishaps.

Rules Were Rules

The entire saga caused quite a stir around the base.

Now, the top brass saw sense and sided with Corporal West and his unit.

They reverted their views on saluting the rank of a car and left it exclusively for officers.

Thankfully, Corporal West could know enjoy things just as they were before the incident.

But what about Margaret?

Understood

Margaret Willis still resided on the base with her husband.

But after their chat, she understood that she couldn’t use his rank as a way of forcing military personnel to salute her.

These days, she can be spotted driving her own car.

It’s a little hatchback as humble as her attitude is now.

A Sinking Feeling

Margaret had always been proud of her husband because he was a military officer who had dedicated his life to serving his country.

And now she felt ashamed that she had embarrassed him in front of his colleagues. 

Although she was a supportive wife, she had always felt a bit left out of the military community, as she was not a service member.

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